Brett Jewell said, “It was great to get some much-needed rain over the last week—16 mm at my location—whilst canola was really struggling with the warmer weather. Both canola and beans are way behind where they were last year, but with some continued rain and sunshine, they should turn out okay. Hopefully, the frosts disappear, as these have slowed the growth significantly.”
Brett said, “We are flat out feeding sheep and will be for a fair while as we are running 500 ewes and 500 lambs together on about 50 acres. Hay and grain go out each day or every second day. They are doing some grazing on the back road, which is keeping the weeds down. Crutching and shearing will be on the agenda over the next month.”
Diapur’s Tom Cook said, “We’re reasonably quiet at the moment. A good recent rain was very welcome, and I’d like to see more to fill up the soil before we come into spring. Most crops look good, but canola is still very behind. Trying to spray on good days; otherwise, I am just getting on top of maintenance and some fencing.”
Matt Rohde said, “I have been busy spraying broadleaf weeds in cereals. Some crops have been growing really well, and others are still trying to catch up. We had around 4-5mm of rain over a couple of days in that last event, but I’m expecting a bit more, but I’m happy enough for now. Hopefully, the next rain isn’t too far away. Good subsoil moisture, too, which gives us some more breathing space.”
Brett Wheaton said, “Last week, we finished top dressing crops with urea and getting spraying up to date. Over the weekend, we had about 13m of rain, which we won’t complain about. However, we could do with a bit more in the coming weeks and some more sunny days to help with crop growth, as we are still hand feeding sheep and cattle. We are gearing up to start shearing next week.”
Lawloit’s Lewis Bothe said, “We have just finished our main shearing, which went smoothly. Big thanks to everyone in the team! Our xbd lambs are all drenched and vaccinated on fresh paddocks now ready to pump the weight on. We are currently offloading some older stock as well. We had 15-20mm of glorious rain across our properties, which was needed. Still some urea to spread, but the spray program is under control, which doesn’t happen too often. Things are looking pretty good at the moment after the rain, but still quite a way to go.”
So stay tuned in the coming weeks to see how the crops are looking.
This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 21 August 2024.
